Numerical control (NC) refers to the automation of machine tools that are operated by abstractly programmed commands encoded on a storage medium, as opposed to manually controlled via handwheels or levers, or mechanically automated via cams alone. Modern computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools have revolutionized the manufacturing process. In modern CNC systems, end-to-end component design is highly automated using computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) programs. The programs produce a computer file that is interpreted to extract the commands needed to operate a particular machine via a postprocessor, and then loaded into the CNC machines for production. Despite their wide-spread in many manufacturing fields, they are still unutilized by the ship industry. With ship hulls, the sizes of the plates that are required to be shaped as well as their desired forming shapes are quite challenging to CNC machines. The aim of our presentation is to review the principles of CNC machines, the associated challenges that hinder using them in the ship industry as well as propose a new CNC machine design concept that can overcome these challenges. The proposed modified CNC machine makes use of several hydraulic actuators within a reconfigurable system framework to overcome the drawbacks of conventional machines from the point of view of ship hull forming. A simple control strategy is proposed to assure that the plates are shaped as required with high accuracy. Examples are included to illustrate how the proposed machine can greatly improve the current status of ship manufacturing by comparing it with current ship hull forming methods, which are essentially trial-and-error based and whose efficiency highly depends on the workers experience and personal skills